safe in the hands of its prospective chief executive, Mr. Charles Vaughan-Johnson.

The bank's chairman Mr. Eldon Trimingham appeased shareholders, who he said, "cannot be anything but concerned when a chief executive of Mr. Lines' stature relinquishes the helm''.

In his speech to shareholders at the bank's annual general meeting, he said that a committee had been appointed to name a successor to president Mr.

Donald Lines.

"It is interesting that after a great deal of work and review together, this committee and Mr. Lines, both came separately to the same conclusion..Mr.

Charles Vaughan-Johnson would be ideally qualified to nurture the next generation of management from which his own successor will come,'' he said.

He also highlighted points in the 1992-3 annual report in which the the bank posted a record profit during of nearly $36 million, an improvement of 26 percent.